SEZ rules to be notified shortly
The government is likely to notify the Special Economic Zone rules in the next couple of weeks, Commerce Secretary S N Menon said on Monday.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: The government is likely to notify the Special Economic Zone rules in the next couple of weeks, Commerce Secretary S N Menon said on Monday.
"We hope to notify SEZ rules within the next two weeks... I am aiming to complete this work before the WTO Ministerial begins in Hong Kong (on December 13)," he said at the India Economic Summit.
Menon said the Commerce Ministry was talking to various stakeholders including private developers to finalise a number of issues such as the minimum size of product specific zones. The minimum size of multi-product SEZs has already been fixed at 1,000 hectares, he said.
Asked whether the rules would have provisions to bring flexibility in labour laws, he replied in the negative saying labour issues come under the perview of the state governments.
The need for flexible labour laws would also be raised during the meeting of Inter-state trade council, he added.
Hardselling SEZs as an ideal investment destination, Menon said developers get income tax exemption for 10 years in a block of 15 years. The developers are also exempt from minimum alternate tax and dividend distibution tax, he said, adding units located in these zones also get tax benefits.
Centre has so far approved 67 SEZs, of which 18 were in the information technology sector. These zones are expected to see investments of at least Rs 10,000 crore over the next three years, he said.
Industry leaders such as Nokia, Reliance Energy, Reliance Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Wipro and Biocon were among the companies which are setting up SEZs, he added.
"We hope to notify SEZ rules within the next two weeks... I am aiming to complete this work before the WTO Ministerial begins in Hong Kong (on December 13)," he said at the India Economic Summit.
Menon said the Commerce Ministry was talking to various stakeholders including private developers to finalise a number of issues such as the minimum size of product specific zones. The minimum size of multi-product SEZs has already been fixed at 1,000 hectares, he said.
Asked whether the rules would have provisions to bring flexibility in labour laws, he replied in the negative saying labour issues come under the perview of the state governments.
The need for flexible labour laws would also be raised during the meeting of Inter-state trade council, he added.
Hardselling SEZs as an ideal investment destination, Menon said developers get income tax exemption for 10 years in a block of 15 years. The developers are also exempt from minimum alternate tax and dividend distibution tax, he said, adding units located in these zones also get tax benefits.
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Centre has so far approved 67 SEZs, of which 18 were in the information technology sector. These zones are expected to see investments of at least Rs 10,000 crore over the next three years, he said.
Industry leaders such as Nokia, Reliance Energy, Reliance Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Wipro and Biocon were among the companies which are setting up SEZs, he added.
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